I'm a nanny with my own baby - what should I charge?

[Vizella]

Hi all,

I am a single mother of a 1.5 year old DS whom I've committed to looking after until he's 3 - I believe in prioritising his needs above my career, etc etc. I live with my parents at the moment, that's how I can afford it.

However, I am eating into my savings and would like to make some income as an after-school nanny so that I don't deplete all of my savings. Otherwise, I might have to go back to work and I don't want to do that.

My question is, would parents be okay with me looking after their children while I bring my DS along - he is well-behaved and bright, not the type to run around tearing things down - and also, should I charge slightly less or the same hourly rate?

So, in London, nannies charge about £15 net per hour, should I charge £10-12 per hour?

Thanks for your advice (and sorry if any of this offends some of you - no idea how lol, but you never know).

We have a nanny. NWOC are quite common in my experience and aren’t paid any less.

It's usually suggested that someone employing a nanny with own child (NWOC) offer about 20 - 25% less than the going rate, and make the option to bring their own child reviewable at 3 months and then every 6 months.

I've had 2 Nannies who brought their own children with them. It worked well with the first nanny who had a son the same age as mine. The second nanny had a 2 year old when mine were in primary school and she just couldn't give my children the kind of after school attention I wanted. As others suggested, she found it hard to get them to do their homework and play games with 2 boys aged 7 and 9 when she had her own 2 year old daughter to look after as well.

I think you would be best looking at part time nanny work for someone with a child the same age as yours.

I’m pretty rural and the kids got a school bus home. So she would just meet them off it and stay till four till six. It worked really well for a year till she moved. Managed to get a work from home job and dc got older so can now manage without help.

Honestly OP lots of people need flexible childcare and would be ok for you to bring your DC along. I’d probably advertise on the regular babysitting sites too. Lots of parents need ad hoc childcare for small children when they need to go to a hairdresser or hospital appointment for example and many babysitters are only available in the evening so you could probably get some work that way too.

Childminders often care for children alongside their own child. I would guess if you charged a little more than a childminder but less than a nanny, someone would be very happy to pay a bit extra if it meant their children were cared for at home and/or taken to activities.

I think I’d be fine with this set up. Not the same but my ds went to a childminder from 10 months and she would go and pick up her own son plus others from primary school. DS loved having the bigger ones around. Lots of childminders have their own child in the mix, so why not a nanny?

This

In London people really struggle to recruit after school nannies so lots of people employ nannies who bring their own child along.
You probably wouldn't be working until 5.30-6pm though as families who can get home at that time will tend to use after school clubs. It is usually families who need a bit more flexibility and might not be home until gone 7. I think it is unlikely that you would just be heating up meals too. Parents would usually expect an after school nannies to cook a healthy meal.
When my first born was younger I worked as an after school nanny 3-7 and brought my DC with me. I was paid £15ph, 4 days a week and took home around £1k a month.

@Vizella

I was just wondering what the solution to this might be, OP.

While you are dipping a toe back in the water re work, could your parents look after your little boy for a few hours while you fulfil bookings outside of the home?

I see that you have experience as a nanny and I was wondering whether there was a reputable agency with which you could register. They could handle enquiries for you and arrange your bookings. That way, there would always be bookings on offer; my concern is that trying to run yourself as a business at this particular moment could be quite hard.

Having said that, something else occurred to me as I was typing this out and I wondered whether there were other options for you which would work while your little boy is very small.

I chipped in on a thread recently which was about two teenagers travelling alone to the US. They were actually old enough to navigate everything and the outcome was very positive all round. I did wonder, though, what would happen if they had been younger and so looked up what was available.

I read years ago that there were adults who accompanied children to airports, say, for instance, if the children were at school here and were returning to their expat families for the summer in places like Hong Kong etc.

I discovered that there's a company now called Airport Angels which offers this kind of service and I wonder whether that would work for you, as the bookings would work well for you while you spend most of your time with your son.

If I asked Airport Angels to escort my children and they had an experienced Nanny such as yourself available, I would see that as a bonus.

It's always worth having more than one string to your bow and this could work well for you, I think.

https://www.airportangels.net/chaperone-care/

I went back to nannying when my dd was 3 months old and had no trouble finding work, I did this until she was about 4 and then changed career.
I joined a couple of agencies and I’m pretty sure it was asked on the registration form of I had children, likewise I think the parents had to state if they were happy to have a NWOC.
All I’m saying is don’t restrict yourself by only thinking after school club will work out for you. Good luck 🤞

Why would you consider charging £10-£12 p.h. when the min wage is £11.44 ?
and being self employed you need to allow for NI. tax and pension.
Or do you intend being employed ?

Don't count on just heating up food, expect to cook.

and it could easily be from end of school ie. anytime from 3pm until 7pm - ish and allow for parents to be late home due to their commute.

Do you drive ?
would you be expecting to use a family car or provide your own - are you insured to accept work children ?

One of the mums that I was at antenatal classes with (and post natal get togethers) was a qualified nursery nurse. I needed to go back to work for three months when my our babies were six months old, and was fretting about what to do. My baby had had a trial morning with a childminder near my work, but had screamed the whole morning, and I couldn't bear the thought of her going there again.

Friend tentatively suggested that she look after her at my house, bringing her baby with her. Circumstances meant that she was living with her parents, so working at mine suited her, as well as making my mornings very much easier. I jumped at the chance, and a mutual friend lent us a twin pushchair.

It worked brilliantly. She had looked after multiple babies in her job, so she was calm and together and I encouraged her to host and visit our mutual mum friends. They all said how great she was and confirmed how happy my DD was and how the babies enjoyed each others company.

Obviously only my experience, and somewhat different ages, but I was very happy with the result.

No. I wouldn't be happy with this set up. It seldom works. I think the most you could do would me to charge child -minder rates.

Will you be ok prioritising the needs of the children you look after over your own child?

Have you any idea what being a Nanny involves re employed and self employed or are you looking for cash in hand work?

Would gladly pay for a playmate for my son and there are many others who would do so also around 10-12 is fine.

I didn’t toddler proof my place. I did dig out a travel cot and we had a stand up kitchen helper thing. I had twin 7yo and they were quite keen on the little one so the eldest would vanish for screens/ homework/ trampoline. Twins would read to toddler and set up tea parties and show her their teddies. It’s not a set up that would work for everyone but I’d assume that people happy to go for a Nwoc have had a think about the practicalities

I didn’t toddler proof my place. I did dig out a travel cot and we had a stand up kitchen helper thing. I had twin 7yo and they were quite keen on the little one so the eldest would vanish for screens/ homework/ trampoline. Twins would read to toddler and set up tea parties and show her their teddies. It’s not a set up that would work for everyone but I’d assume that people happy to go for a Nwoc have had a think about the practicalities

You would be childminding, not nannying. A nanny doesn’t look after other children at the same time.

Some nannies do, families sometimes do a nanny share, some nannies bring their own child. Childminding is when you go it from your own home ( willing to be corrected here)

Well she wants to be home with her child till she is 3, after school childcare will preumably wth children over 3 so can't see the issue.

I agree with this. If we had a NWOC, I wouldn't see an issue with putting up a temp stairgate, whacking on a few cupboard locks and looking out some old toys of my DC - I would view doing the basics to make the house toddler-friendly as being part of the package.

Yes this is what I was trying to get at too.

I don't think there are many parents in London - well provided for with after school clubs - who want an after school nanny for one child, who are happy to cook the meal and leave it for the nanny and be back for 5:30.

I don't think that is the market. People go for a nanny because they want long hours, someone who will cook for their child and take some of the mental load, ferrying to activities etc

Ofcourse they do.
I looked after 4 from 2 families. Its called a ‘Nanny share’ 😂😂

I am really enjoying my house not looking like toddler central so for me this would be a huge downside.

It could be made up for by the rest of the package but what the OP is offering is shorter hours than my school's after school club and I would have to cook dinner (after school club feed them a hot full meal), so it would be hard to see the point when it would also cost me more

My childhood nanny used to do this. She was my nanny from around six months old to age 11. I'm still in touch with her. Her child used to come on holiday with us (she was the same age as my younger sister). It all worked really well for long time, until the girl and my sister started having friendship issues age 9, and I went to private school for secondary and the nanny was ready for something new.

I've no idea what she charged or what qualifications she had, but it worked pretty well. And the kid just did the same clubs as us, so when we had French and ballet her mum just signed her own kid up as well since she was running us around to those places.